Artificial fuel



UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY ZAllN, OF'DENVER, COLORADO.

ARTIFIOCIALFU EL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 478,039, dated June 28,

Application filed February 28,1889. Serial No. 301 ,646. (No specimens.)

1'0 all whom t may concern.

Be it known that l, HENRY ZAHN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Denver,in the county of Arapahoe' and State I of Colorado, have invented a certain new and useful-Artificial Fuel, of which the following is a specification. v v

First. Itake some solid combustible substance, preferably coke or coal-dust, either sufficiently fine I comminute' it, the finer coal-dust,

anthracite or bituminous, and if not already the better, by any suitable means, sift it to a uniform fineness, and thoroughly dry out all its free and latent moisture. this material I shall speak of it merely as meaning bythat term any solid combustible substance prepared as above described.

Second. A peculiar feldspathic deposit known as geyserite, named by others volcanic dust, has recently been discovered in large quantities in the valleys of the Repub- .lican and Loup rivers, in the State of Ne- .braska,and in several other places in the States of Colorado, Kansas, and Nevada, and in the Territories lying east of the Rocky Mountains It exists in the form of micro scopic dust compacted to about the hardness of soft, chalk, in beds of various thickness, and when examined under the microscope is found tobe composed of minute translucent scales distinctly rounded and water-worn.

Its chemical composition diifers somewhat in difierent beds, and even in different parts of the same bed, but so far as examined is found to be composedof from-sixty to eighty per cent. of alumina silicate of the trielinic (feldspar, albite, orthoclase) group, and from twenty to forty per cent. of alumina, potash,

as yet known.

soda, iron and magnesia, lime, and crystal of horneblende, but is destitute of quartz, so far these translucent scales readily dissolve into a dark-green jelly of very adhesive character.

I take about three partsof the geyserite to one of the caustic alkali, by weight, with the minimum of water neccs'saryto dissolve the In referring tomake no dirt or waste in Boiled with caustic soda or potash (preferably of a strength of 76 Baum) more economical than a short time -say From thirty to sixty minuniformly incorporated with every ton of coa'l dust. I do not, however, these exact "proportions, will require more and others less of the geyserite jelly.

Fourth; I then remove the mass and immediately mold it under pressure into briquette of convenient size for handling. The briquettes thus formed come from the press tough and hard, so that they can be handled with impunity, oughlyindurated and ready for use or transportation. They posscssheat-producing pow- ,confine myself to ers far exceeding those of coal, burn without.

smoke, produce no clinkcrs and but little ash, V handling, are more compact than coal for transportation, and in burning-the albumina silicate turns intofine vitreous glass, and preserves the form of the briquettes until they are entirely consumed.

The materials being cheap and practically inexhaustible, the process of manufacture short, simple, and inexpensive, and the resulting article so greatly superior to, coal inheatproducing qualities, in compactness, and in other points of advantage hereinbefore' re ferred 'to,it results that.- my improved fuel, even when transported long distances, is found to be not only moresatisfactory, but the mineral fuels now in common use.

For certain purposes the above-described geyserite jelly before mixing with the-coaldust of some hydrocarbon, preferal'llyf' crude petroleum or the residuum therefrom after as some coaLdust and in three days become thorwhich forms a supporting-wail fuel. may be improved by the addition to the,

, the lighter products are distilled off; and, fur

ther, when the coal-dustused is lacking in bituminous matter a mixture of petroleum with some resinous substance-may be so used with advantage, \Vhenboth the hydrocarbon and'the resinous substance are used and anthracite dust employed,the fuel obtained will produce the bright flame so desirable in steamgeneration. v V

The peculiar and novel character of the fuel herein described and of its action in the furnace will be readily appreciated from the I haVe found that ordinary feldspar prop- Q erly comminuted may be employed as a substitute for the geyserite and I find it as an inferior equivalent therefor for the purposes of my invention. It is, however, more expensive, more difficult to treat in the manufacturing process, and, so far as I have'been able to ascertain by experiment, produces an article more or less inferior to that produced by the geyserite.

I claim as .new and vdesire to secure bv'Let: ters Patent- 1. An artificial fuel consisting of the herein-described geyserite jelly and a solid com bustible substance,such as coal-dust mixed together, as and for the purpose stated.

2. An artificial fuel consisting oftgeyserite jelly, coal-dust, and a hydrocarbon, such as crude petroleum, from which the light hydro-- 

